A Shine in the Wrong Place
by CuriouslyCheekyCheye
Summary: Sora and his friends finish their raft and prepare to leave the Islands. They look towards the future with excitement for the worlds they'll see. Only, Riku and Kairi are acting strange. Sora just wants to explore new places with his friends, but their own world falls to pieces instead. Alone and displaced, Sora tries to find answers. Part 3 of All That Glitters Must Be Gold.
1. Chapter 1

**Part three is here and the plot begins! Here we go!**

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Kairi counts on her fingers, mentally listing off what they've already done, what isn't finished, and what she needs to remind Sora to find and Riku to carry. She then nods to herself and smiles down proudly at their raft.

The raft rests on firmly on the sand, a fair bit away from the ocean so the high tides can't drag it away. Made from wooden logs sawed in half by Riku and Sora, and tied together tightly by her own hands, this raft is going to take them places far beyond the horizon.

She can't wait.

Kairi ignores the little voice in her head telling her this is a stupid idea, that they can't go far on a _raft_. Together, with Riku and Sora by her side, they can go _anywhere_ they want two. Those boys aren't going to let a silly little thing like_ logic_ stop them.

She finished fastening the cloth into a makeshift sail. Tomorrow she'll get Riku to hold down the last logs so she can nail them down, and then they'll be just about ready to go.

The walk back to the shed is short, and she stashes the mushrooms Sora found into the cooler her dad lent her.

Her head turns when she hears wood slam against wood, soon followed by a yell and splash. Routine tells her that Sora and Riku are sparring again, and one of them fell into the water. The chuckling and annoyed calls tell her Sora was the unfortunate victim.

Kairi shakes her head fondly. Those two may be the best team and friends anyone has ever seen, but oceans forbid they don't antagonise each other. A day without a challenge between those two is apparently a day wasted.

While closing the door she distantly wonders what started it this time. Was it Riku showing off his massive ego, or Sora just wanting to fight? It could go either way, really. Especially now.

Kairi frowns and pushes a rock in front of the door with her foot, so it can't blow open again.

She doesn't know why, but lately, something has been feeling off. The Islands, her friends, herself, it's impossible to pinpoint where this is coming from.

It's like the winds are whispering warnings into her ears, in languages she can't understand. The earth beneath feels unsteady, the water sluggish and murky. But nothing is physically different or wrong around her. She feels unsettled.

Her thoughts turn to Riku.

Strong Riku, who is arrogant and hot-headed and too big for his shoes. Riku who is loyal, protective, and never hesitates to pull them by their hands to their next adventure.

Riku, who has been changing in ways that scare her.

The shift was subtle, but she can see it plain as day. When he became less hot-headed and more confrontational. When his protectiveness became territorial. When his dreams of reaching other worlds started tipping into an obsession.

Kairi knows he feels confined on the islands. They're small, and there's only so much you can explore and discover before it becomes repetitive. She feels the same some days- like there's an itch inside her skin that can't be soothed by this world. She wonders on those days if that's how Riku always feels.

Sora doesn't seem to understand; he's happy no matter where he is, as long as Riku and Kairi are there too. His world revolves less around space, and more around relationship and friendship. Kairi knows loneliness is his greatest fear. But her and Riku will never abandon him, never let him feel that empty abyss where he would no doubt drown.

It's why they've all agreed to build their raft and set sail together. They can taste true freedom, out there where the boundaries between land and sea don't exist. Riku won't be confined, Sora won't be lonely, and she wouldn't have to ever leave them.

…But she might have to leave Riku.

She knows it's selfish, to ask Sora to set sail without him, and a useless endeavour besides. He would never leave one of them behind. Sora isn't that kind of person.

Kairi might have to be, to keep them safe. Riku hasn't done anything to threaten or hurt them, and Sora doesn't notice anything wrong with him, but with how Kairi has been feeling, with how the world feels like something is peering into it with an eager kind of _hunger_…

They row home at sunset and she packs her backpack. She needs to ready, no matter what.

Kairi remembers something she heard once as she falls into an uneasy rest.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

* * *

Sora lies on his bed with his arms behind his head, comfortable and content as can be. The evening is quiet and his room dark; he didn't bother to turn on his light or lamp. The moonlight works fine, and it tints everything blue. It's peaceful.

Sora doesn't really think of anything, just lets thoughts drift aimlessly in his head. One catches his attention, and he glances at the toy ship on the bookcase.

_I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great._

It's Kairi's voice, echoing the excitement he and Riku have felt since they decided to build the raft. Sora lets it roll over him and thinks about what happened today.

It was so weird. He was taking a nap (because Kairi can be_ a_ _slave driver_ when she wants to be), and he had the strangest dream. He was standing on bright pillars of mosaic glass, following the instructions of what must have been two different voices, although they sounded so close in likeness.

The first was a voice of warning, gruff like sand and edged with anger and worry.

_So much to do, so little time._

The second was a voice of comfort, sleepy and not sounding like it's all that aware.

_Take your time. Don't be afraid._

Then that big sword appeared, heavier than his wooden one, and he took down the shadows that crawled out of the floor. Afterwards, Sora was sucked into a vortex and onto another pillar, where he opened a door leading to the Islands and those weird questions.

Then…

_The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes._

The darkness grew.

_But don't be afraid._

His shadow turned against him.

_And don't forget…_

It turned into a monster. He had nowhere to run.

He tried to fight it off, but his sword disappeared. Those yellow eyes glared into him, and he got caught in a pool of darkness. In the chaos, the words stood out like a flare.

_-But don't be afraid. _

Tendril clung onto him, pulling him deeper.

_You hold the mightiest weapon of all._

The monster loomed over him. There was no escape.

_So don't forget:_

The darkness swallowed him.

He can still hear the confidence and certainty they spoke with as it all fell apart. Awake and aware, prepared for what's to come.

_You are the one who will open the door._

He woke up with Kairi looming over him. She's lucky he didn't pull on her leg and drag her into the water for that. Then again, she'd probably shove his head under the waves in retaliation. Their banter helped take his mind off the frightening dream. And that crazy guy who just appeared in the secret place helped derail the train of thought completely

But now, in the late evening, with nothing but the quiet as company, he can't help but wonder if that dream wasn't a dream, but some kind of… warning? Vision?

He's probably being ridiculous; it's was just a really weird dream brought on by too many times dunked in the water. He'll get over it soon enough.

Thunder rang outside his window, and he leaned up to look.

"A storm?"

The clouds roll in fast and thick, and he can see the lighting hitting the water from here. It's going to be rough, he can already see the broken tree branches. No, wait.

"Oh no, the raft!"

Sora is out the window and running to the play island as soon as he can open the lock, ignorant to his mother's call behold him.

When he gets there, the storm is close to hitting. In the distance is some kind of dark... thing floats, sucking in any moonlight that slips through the clouds. Next to the dock is Riku and Kairi's rowboats.

The shadow creatures from his dream come into existence in front of him. He gasps at them, shocked. Was his dream real?

He runs between and past them, swinging his wooden blade. It's useless against the creatures, but he can at least knock them out of his way. He needs to find Riku and Kairi, _fast._

Sora spots Riku first, standing on the small island across the bridge, where their favourite tree grows. Riku's back faces him.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora asks him, "I thought she was with you!"

Riku doesn't move. "The door has opened…" He says. Sora hears a faint memory of something similar.

_The door is still shut._

He brushes it off. There are more important things to worry about right now.

"What?"

"The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" Riku finally turns around. As he turns, Sora sees his gem. It looks misted over and dull, more so than the sea spray and late hour could make it. Not even in a pitch-black would a gem like Riku's lose its shine.

"What are you talking about?" Riku sounds nuts. Is right now seriously the time for this? "We've got to find Kairi!" Sora tries to talk some logic into his friend, but it doesn't reach him.

"Kairi's coming with us!" _Not if they can't find her!_

It's no use. Riku's eyes are blank, like he's not fully there. Sora feels the hair on his neck rise, and he's left worried and angry at his blatant disregard. This isn't like him.

Riku looks up at the dark thing in the sky. It's gotten bigger.

"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

He sounds victorious, like this is supposed to happen, like he can't have chosen a better way. Riku reaches his hand out to Sora.

"Riku…"

A portal forms beneath him and tendrils start climbing up his legs. Riku does nothing to stop them.

Sora runs into it himself and tries to grab hold of his hand. Maybe he can pull Riku away and somehow snap him out of it. Their hands are _so close_, but only Sora's really trying. Riku only stands there, frozen. Why isn't he grabbing hold?

Riku vanishes into the darkness, and something forms in Sora's hand from a sparkling light.

Key-like in appearance, the thing rests heavily in the hand that _Riku_ should have held.

_Keyblade…_

He doesn't have time to wonder. More of those shadow creatures show up, and he smacks them away. The Keyblade is more effective than wood and actually does damage to them. He fights off every creature that comes near.

He tries to find Kairi. He needs one of his friends by his side, and she hasn't been found yet. Something pulls him to the secret place.

It's quiet in the cavern, and his call rings off the walls with relief.

"Kairi!"

She stands in front of the door, loose-limbed and swaying. When she turns at his call, her eyes are half-lidded. She looks vaguely scared and confused.

"Sora…" She tries to call back softly and starts walking to him like she's in a dream. Her hand reaches for him.

The door that has never moved an inch in all of known history, slams open behind her. The wind is so strong, as though the entire storm has been funnelled through the doorway, that it blows Kairi right over. He tries to catch her, but she disappears when she hits his arms. The wind forces him out the tunnel next.

Sora tumbles head over heels with his arms around his head. He can already feel the bumps and bruises that will form from slamming into rock and wood as he crashes into the sand. Or rather the edge of the island that wasn't there_ literally_ a minute ago.

He landed facing the thing in the sky, which he can now see is sucking parts of the island into it. Sora's in the eye of a tornado and trees are uprooted swiftly and sent swirling up and around him.

He hears something behind him and turns to see another creature from his dreams. The monster that came from his shadow stands in the middle of what is left of his home, tall and more foreboding than anything he has ever felt in his life. Sora gulps and steels his nerves. He can't falter now.

He summons his keyblade and aims for its hands.

He fights as hard as he can, running from the smaller creatures and avoiding the deadly attacks the massive one throws at him. He's mid-swing when gravity flips around.

He's close enough to the ground to grab hold of a rock, while the monster and its friends are sucked away. But Sora can't keep hold of a crumbling anchor, and soon follows into the darkness beyond.

He falls unconscious and leaves behind everything he knew.

* * *

Pluto sniffs around the streets, looking for something that smells far different from the town they're in. Like sun, sand and salt, with a hint of minerals. It stands out from the wood, metal and stone of the buildings he passes on his quest for this interesting scent.

He marches around the corner and past a pile of crates, right to a boy lying collapsed against the wall. He's out cold. Pluto blinks at him. He smells like a beach.

Pluto licks at his hand and tastes a layer of salt on his skin. The boy doesn't wake up, so he licks his face. That does it.

The boy wakes up, looks around blurrily, and mutters, "What a dream…" He closes his eyes again.

Pluto slams his front legs down on the boy's stomach before he can dare fall asleep. Sora jerks fully awake with a yelp.

"This isn't a dream!" He cries, looking at his surroundings more thoroughly. Pluto backs up so he can stand, happily panting while Sora tries to figure out his location. "Where am I?" He mumbles.

Sora looks down at the very happy dog. "Oh boy." He bends down to stare at him more levelly. "Do you know where we are?"

Pluto stares back, then glances away when he catches the sound of something close by. The mystery of the beach scent solved, he bolts away, chasing another adventure.

"Hey…" Sora calls, reaching futilely for the dog. Then seeing him continue to run, Sora runs after him. Maybe the dog can lead him to someone with answers. He follows the dog out of the alley he's apparently been sleeping in, and into what looks to a town square. It's quiet with few people hanging around in it. The sky is dark and filled with stars clearer than he's seen on the Islands.

This is totally weird, he thinks, staring up in awe. The realization then hits him, sudden and hard.

"I'm in another world!"

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**I'd just like to mention that while it's cannon (I think) that Mickey was the voice in the beginning of the game, I decided it doesn't work for me. Thus we get Sora's guests making what could maybe be called an appearance. Or a mention. Not sure how to classify a dream/memory.**

**I've also decided to divide this part into three chapter. I know I take a bit to update, but I won't leave yo hanging to long. I got plans for this au.**

**Please leave a comment on your way out! I love hearing from all of you! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this chapter took so long. I wanted to post it earlier, but we had like a week of rain, which made it too dreary to type. It's also thrown my schedule out of whack, so it took a bit to get back into writing. **

**But you're not interested in that! You want to see the next chapter! Which is right here! Enjoy!**

Sora hops down the stairs two at a time and enters the town square. Or is it a market? There aren't more than five people he can see, but the buildings do look like stores. He looks around for the dog, but it's run away. Sora decides it's probably more useful to find someone that can talk. He heads to the nearest person.

A guy stands by a funny looking lantern, just staring into the distance. He kinda matches the lights and grass, with his yellow shirt and green pants. He also looks super bored. The guy's eyes focus on Sora when he gets closer.

"Hi there!" Sora greets, friendly as can be. The guy blinks. "I'm Sora, what's your name?"

He looks at him for a moment, and Sora thinks he's not going to say anything. Then: "You looking for someone?" Now it's Sora's turn to look a little lost. How'd he know? He shakes it off and nods his head. "Yeah, my friends, Riku and Kairi. Have you seen them?" The guy shakes his head.

"It's a big town, so check everywhere." He says, then goes back to staring into the void. Sora wonders if what he sees is more interesting than not being rude; he didn't even tell Sora_ his name_. Who _does that?_

Sora decides to try someone else. Right there by a brick pillar, he can see a lady wearing a long skirt, but she doesn't look interested in talking either. Sora feels put out. Then something wanders into the corner of his view: a really short pink thing with squinted eyes and a red ball on its head. He walks over to where it's pacing.

"Hello?" He tries. It turns to him, and he wonders if he should kneel down to its height. That might be insulting though, so he doesn't.

"Hello, kupo. Can I help you?" It's got a high pitched voice, and it sounds friendly, so Sora introduces himself brightly, "Hi! I'm Sora. Do you know where we are?" It stares at him for a moment too. Why are people doing that?

"I'm Belo, I'm a Moogle, kupo. From that look, I guess you've never seen one of my kind before, kupo." Sora rubs his head sheepishly. Is it that obvious? "Sorry."

Belo shakes his head. "It's fine," He says, glancing up at the sky. He then continues, "We're in Traverse Town. I also guess you're new, kupo? Be careful. The first district is the only safe place, kupo."

The only safe place? Sora guesses that's where he is now, but how would he know when he enters a different district? This doesn't sound good. "Ah, thank you. I'll remember that."

The Moogle nods then points back up the stairs. "Go that way and find the accessory shop, kupo. There's a guy named Cid who might help you. Goodbye, kupo." The Moogle goes back to its pacing. Sora's eyes go wide when he sees the Moogle is flying. He looks like a weird flying ink stuffed animal. But that would be really rude to say, so Sora only says, "Right, thank you again!" before he heads off to his next destination.

It doesn't take him long to find the shop since it's almost a hop and a skip away from the staircase. The sign above it proclaims in bright yellow letters 'Accessory Shop', so Sora pushes one of the doubled doors open and lets himself in.

The shopfront is a wide-open area, with a huge fireplace to his right and a green counter to his left. He sees an old blond guy standing behind it, and assumes that's Cid. The door swings shut behind him, and as Sora wanders further in he can see a sofa and bench next to the fireplace. He wonders at the things inCide the display case and on the wall behind glass and makes a note to look at those later. There might be something useful.

The blond guy turns away from the huge crystal he'd been looking at and faces Sora.

"Hey there, how can I… Aw, it's only a kid." The man's shoulders slump slightly and he sounds disappointed. Sora huffs and tries to look taller.

"I'm not a kid! And my name's Sora!" Sora proclaims, walking closer to the counter. He gives the guy a not very scary glare. Like a puppy yapping at a bear.

The guy snorts, "Okay, okay, simmer down." He looks at Sora too, like he's trying to figure out a really hard math question. Or maybe not so hard, since his eyes light up in understanding pretty fast. "So why the long face, Sora? You lost or something?"

Sora blinks, then frowns. His automatic answer is, "No!" But the guy doesn't look convinced.

"Well, maybe," Sora rubs his head. He came here for some answers, didn't he? So he asks, "Where are we?"

The guy's eyebrows furrow, making him look even more serious. Or confused. But that's okay, 'cause Sora's pretty confused too.

"What do mean?" He asks, crossing his arms.

"Well, I was with my friends on the Island today, building a raft, then I don't even know how long ago, both of them disappeared and the Island was torn to shreds," Sora explains. Thinking about it puts a heavy feeling in his chest, somewhere above his gem, and his throat feels tight. Sora pushes it back.

The more he talks the higher the guy's eyebrows go. He holds up a hand to stop Sora.

"Island, you say?"

Sora nods. "Yeah, Destiny Islands. It's a chain of islands in the middle of the ocean with lots of trees and the best waters ever. Me, Kairi and Riku were on the smallest island -the play island- when it happened."

He looks Sora in the eye, something sad in the grey depths. Sora doesn't understand. "And it was torn to shreds? By what?"

"I don't know. There was this really big dark thing in the sky that was sucking _everything_ up, and these creepy black bug things were crawling out from everywhere." Sora stops, a shiver going up his spine. He shouldn't think too hard about it now, because if he does he might cry. He needs to find his friends first.

The guy sighs and pinches his nose. "Well, this ain't Destiny Islands. We're in Traverse Town." He tells Sora. Didn't that Moogle say the same thing? Sora thinks he did.

"Traverse Town… So, gramps, is this really another world?" He bounces on his toes. Did he really make it to a whole new world? Riku and Kairi are going to_ freak_ when he tells them.

The guy rubs his nose, irritated. "Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!" Sora guessed right, this _is_ Cid.

Cid lowers his hand to his chin. "Anyway… Not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your Island."

Sora slumps with a heavy sigh, dejected. Then he lifts his head. He can't give up before he's started.

"Hmm… Guess I'd better start looking for Riku and Kairi," He says before a lightbulb goes off in his head. "Hey! If you see them can you tell them I was here or something?" He asks, nearly leaning on the counter between them in his enthusiasm. Cid raises his hands.

"Sure kid, but you have to tell me what they look like first." He says, lightly poking Sora's forehead to make him back off a little. Sora stumbles back.

"Okay," He says, no less energized. "So Riku has silver hair, not grey cause he gets really irritated when you say that, and its shoulder length. His eyes are a really pretty green-blue, and he's this tall." He indicates the height roughly with his hand, "He was wearing a yellow shirt and weird puffy pants that I'm pretty sure are actually leg warmers he clipped onto shorts. Don't tell him that though." Sora rushes out the last part. If Riku found out he thought that he'd never hear the end of it.

"Kairi has red-brown hair that's shorter than Riku's, and her eyes are blue like water. She's a little shorter than me and was wearing a black and white shirt with a purple skirt and shorts. She might come here, 'cause she really likes necklaces and making charms and stuff." She might be easier to find than Riku, actually. He just needs to look in craft stores or flowerbeds. Places which have solid locations, unlike Riku who just goes to wherever there's a fight to be had.

Cid nods, memorising the details Sora sprouted off. He doesn't have the heart to tell him that the chance of them landing here are pretty slim, so he just agrees to keep an eye out for them.

"Sure, I'll tell you if someone like that comes around." Cid hopes they do. Sora looks like the type to have a bleeding heart. It would be terrible for him to have it broken.

Sora gives him a grin straight from the sun. "That's great! Thank you so much!" Cid waves it off. "Whatever, kid. And good luck with whatever it is you're doing next." Sora's halfway to the door already, clearly on a mission. "And hey!" He slows to hear Cid's parting words.

Cid crosses arms and straightens his spine, looking as tough as his muscles say he is. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you." He says, shooting Sora a smirk.

"I will!" Sora calls back, rushing out the door on his search for his friends. Cid shakes his head- wishing he still had energy like that - and heads to the staircase in the backroom. He really hopes the kid finds his buddies, but he should prepare the guest room just in case. He can at least change the bedsheets to something less dusty.

Sora, meanwhile, is exploring every nook and cranny he can fit into, searching for a sign of something he knows. His friends, some beach sand, even just a seashell._ Something_ that can tell him where they might be. In the end, he finds nothing in the First District, so he heads through a set of huge doors with a sign that says 'Second District'. It's a self-explanatory sign, he thinks.

The second he's through, Sora's is frozen in his tracks. A guy in a blue shirt runs terrified across past him, and before Sora can blink, the man's hit with something. A reddish-pink heart leaves him, and the man disappears before he hits the ground. The heart transforms into one of those shadow creatures, only this time it's wearing armour.

Sora can't do much but scream frightened. _What_ did he just see?! _What just happened?!_

More heartless appear and he scrambles to summon his Keyblade. They attack him randomly, no pattern or teamwork, and he swings at their heads as hard as he can. Soon he stands alone, panting, but successful.

"It's those creatures from the island!" He says to himself. There's no one else to listen. Is this what that Moogle meant when he said the First District was the only safe place? It _has_ to be, those things appeared almost _right_ in front of the doors.

And… that man. What happened to him? Is he…No, no,_ don't_ think about that, Sora tells himself. Because if he thinks about the creatures…_ taking_ that man, then _what_ did they do to his home?

He continues on, walking the empty streets and alleys. More shadow creatures appear, and he deals with them as best he can. They chase him through a colourful building with gears in the walls, through a hotel with locked doors, and all the way to the Third District.

Sora likes this district more than the other two at first sight. Fairy lights are strewn across every wall and bright colours glow on the bricks. It brings some cheer back into him. Then the creatures come back.

He searches this district too, but all he finds is locked doors, empty houses and more fights. He quickly returns to the Second District. This time he at least meets someone. Two someone's, in fact.

Sure they're both dogs (who for some reason can talk when the other one he met couldn't), but they can talk to him, and their house is safe enough to rest in for a bit. They tell him about their 99 puppies, and Sora wonders how someone can have that many puppies in one space without dying from the cuteness. Kairi would happily smother under a puppy pile, and Riku would sit in the highest tree he could find.

Sora promises them he'll help look for the puppies, then promises himself he'll bring Riku and Kairi here as soon as all the puppies are gathered.

He leaves when he has his breath back and a cup of water in him. Sora will have to find something to eat soon.

He goes back to the First District. The creatures drop munny when he hits them, and he's been picking it up when he can. The square in the First District had what looked like a restaurant, or at least a place that sells food, so he heads there.

The creatures appear here too, so Sora isn't sure how true the 'safest district' thing is. But whatever. He's too tired to care right now.

No one is in the square, and Cid's Shop is empty. Did he miss something? He can't tell what hour it is, the sky isn't getting any darker or lighter, so Sora has no idea if it's closing time, bedtime, or just disappear-off-the-face-of-the-planet time.

He wanders into an Item Shop, manned by what appears to be three small ducks. The one in red is counting on a clipboard, the one in green is sweeping, and the one in blue is sitting on the counter. Sora walks over to him.

"Hi there!" The little duck calls and Sora is surprised by his watery voice. He sounds like when he and his friend had talked half underwater at each other once. Kairi had laughed _so_ hard when Sora choked and made gargling screaming sounds. Riku told him he sounded insane through his own laughter.

Sora greets him and looks at the stock behind the counter. There's not much, but he does see a potion that can heal the bruises he's been collecting for the last who knows how long. He doesn't see any food however, so the potion is all he gets.

"Thank you!" The duck warbles behind him. "Come again!" Sora waves at them as he leaves.

He's wondering if it's safe to drink a potion on an empty stomach when someone speaks behind him.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere."

Sora jumps with a sharp gasp. The surprise appearances, attacks and running all over the place aren't good for his heart, he can feel it beat hard above his gem. Sora spins to face the voice.

"Who are you?"

"And they'll keep on coming at you," A tall guy with brown hair walks out from behind a wall. Sora eyes his dark clothes, weird animal necklace, and the scar between his eyes. The guy glares at him in return. "As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

Sora doesn't like the way he says that. He summons his Keyblade and holds it defensively.

The guy shifts, weight moving from one foot to the other. His fists clench. "But why?" He asks, agitated for reasons Sora can't guess. "Why would it choose a kid like you?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Is this guy looking for a fight? Sora hefts his Keyblade as high as his sore arms can.

The guy scoffs. "Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade." He's definitely threatening Sora now. He advances towards Sora, hand held out as if Sora will actually _give_ the Keyblade to him. Fat chance.

Sora backs away from him. "What? There's no way you're getting this!" He declares. The man materializes his own weapon, a weird sword with a gun for a hilt.

He swings it onto his shoulder, holding the heavy looking blade with ease, and sticks his other hand in his pocket. "Aright, then have it your way." He says, then points it at Sra like he's going to shoot him. Sora has no idea if a _gun-sword_ can fire bullets, so he runs away fast.

The sword swings, misses, and Sora tries to get his own strike in. The guy avoids it, looking as bothered as a breeze, and takes another swing. Sora runs up the stairs.

The guy starts shooting _fire_ at him, and Sora does his best to hit the flames away with his Keyblade. A few still hit him, and hard. He's backed into a wall and dodges to the right and down the other side of the stairs. He's near Cid's shop, he just needs to get there and maybe this psycho will leave him alone.

A hit to his back has him tumbling down the stairs. His flailing Keyblade hits the guy in the chin, which Sora counts as good. He makes sure to land on his back and rolls to his feet fast.

Now the guy looks more than just mildly annoyed. He bares his teeth at Sora and swipes his heavy sword fast. Sora lifts the Keyblade to counter and is pushed back by the momentum. His hand slips.

The Keyblade hits his gem, and Sora chokes.

He crumples to the ground and the Keyblade skids to the side. The man stands over the barely conscious boy.

He kneels down and starts touching Sora's head. He checks for bumps and looks at the pupils he can see through half-closed eyes.

He hears a feminine voice behind him but doesn't look. He knows who it is.

"Hey, you found it. Nice going, Leon." She congratulates from her seat on the wall. Her yellow scarf flutters when she hops down and joins him. "Geez, you went hard on the kid." She remarks.

Leon snorts, "Please, Yuffie. I've gone harder on a piece of toast." The kid's slipping fully into oblivion now, but it doesn't look like a concussion. Must be exhaustion, Leon decides. He stands up and looks at her. "Still… It looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

They both startle when the kid bursts into smoke. They hear a clinking as the smoke dissipates, and all that's left of the kid Leon beat up is the Keyblade and a huge gemstone.

There's a shocked silence until-

_"Leon, what the hell did you do?!"_

**Welp, that happened. Don't really get why Leon thought beating up a kid to get a Keyblade was a good idea, but you do you I guess. **

**Fun bit of information! If you chat with Sid again before going to the Second District, he says, "If you can't find your buddies, I'll look after you." I know how I'm interpreting that!**

**Also when you enter the Second District there's a display case with shoes that says 'Boots & Shoes'. At first it looked like a shoe vending machine to me. I now choose to make it a shoe vending machine, if only because I've never heard of such a thing before. It's a fun thought.**

**Please leave a comment! I love hearing from you all! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welp, here we are. The end of part three, released in the beginning of the 20th decade. Wild.**

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"Okay, keep calm, keep calm. We can figure this out!" Yuffie insists, pacing in a completely _not-calm_ circle around the room. At this rate her shoes are going to wear a track into the floor, but she doesn't care. Because how do you turn a _kid_ into a _gemstone_, and _how do you turn him back?_

Leon alternates between watching her panic and inspecting the source of their current problem. "Why don't you go drink some water?" He suggests, to which she gives him a hard glare.

"And leave you alone with… _this?_" She splutters, pointing towards the large gem placed carefully in the center of a pillow on the table. "Nope, not happening. I am not leaving you alone to do something stupid again. Because fighting the kid to get the Keyblade, I can sorta understand that. Gotta make sure he knows how to fight and stop him from attracting Heartless. You also had to comfort your ego." She dodges the book he throws at her. "Don't throw books! You'll break them!" She scolds.

He stands up and moves to lean against the door next to the Keyblade. Yuffie takes his place on the chair and continues her rant. "So yeah, I get it. But did you_ really _need to chase him down the stairs? You're lucky he didn't break anything. Although turning into a shiny rock _isn't_ much better." She complains, resting her head on her palm and dragging the pillow closer. It really _is_ shiny.

It's also one of the biggest gemstones she's ever seen, capable of filling her whole hand, but then again there_ is_ that monster one in Sid's shop. This one is a beautiful sky blue, and clear like glass. She can see what looks like other gemstones in it too- a really light blue or white round one to one side, a pointy dark one next to it, and a tiny round pink one suspended above them, nearer to the top of the gem. She had no idea there could be a bunch of different gemstones in one.

Leon sighs roughly, "None of that is my fault, Yuffie. The kid did all of that himself." The back of his head thumps against the door. Yuffie makes a hum and rubs a smudge of dirt off the gem with her glove. The quiet is tense.

"Hey," Yuffie calls back to him, hoping to defuse the situation a little. "What do you think this is? It looks like a sapphire, or maybe a topaz?"

Leon snorts. "Don't ask me. All I know about gems is that you can buy them in jewellery." Yuffie grins and huffs a laugh. She takes her eyes off the gemstone and glances at him. "Maybe Sid knows. He does sell those protective bracelets and stuff." She tells him. He thinks for a moment, then nods.

"Yeah, maybe he can help us fix this mess."

_'This mess'_ promptly fixes itself in the showiest way possible.

Yuffie shoots backwards to avoid the gem hitting her face as it floats away from the table. In an instant she's next to Leon, both keeping hands on their weapons and watching the light show unfold from the gem. It floats as high as her chest off the ground, surrounded by a blue glow that fluidly expands and takes shape. Water turns to puppet-like segments, then transparent fabric blooms from it. The light gains detail and becomes solid. Lastly, colours bleed in.

The kid Leon was fighting earlier hovers right in front of them, limp and dead to the world. The gem is still glowing, but now it's hidden under his onesie. They watch with bated breath as he drifts to the ground and slumps into a pile. The blue glow fades away.

Leon and Yuffie slowly edge closer to him, looking for a twitch. A swift poke from Yuffie's shoe gets an irritated mumble from him. Yuffie crouches down next to him while Leon stands back to watch.

"Hey kid, you okay? C'mon, wake up." She cautiously nudges him, then shakes his arm. He hasn't done anything weird or dangerous beyond scaring them, so she doesn't feel the need to be too careful.

The kid groans, but he seems to be coming to.

"That's it, up you go!" Yuffie encourages, squeezing her arm under his back to help him sit up. His eyes open and he looks at her blurrily, mumbling.

"You okay?" She asks him when he's fully up. He nods, "I guess."

Yuffie grins, "That's good! We were scared you were gonna be rock forever." She laughs. Leon is back to leaning against the door with his arms crossed. He really likes doing that, she thinks. Must be a pretty comfortable door.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi."

She blinks at the kid, confused. Then she smiles again and says, "Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the great Ninja Yuffie." He blinks back at her, letting out a confused, "Huh?" Yuffie leans in closely to check his eyes again, concerned. They do look kinda shifty… She looks back at Leon. "I think you might have overdone it, Squall." She glares disapprovingly.

Leon pushes himself off the door and replies, "That's Leon, and you've said that before."

The boy, as soon as his gaze clears completely and he catches sight of Leon, scrambles back on all fours past the table and into the wall.

"You!" He points at Leon dramatically. "You're that crazy guy who attacked me!" Yuffie snorts and grins at Leon with no shame. "He's not wrong," She snickers and gleefully ignores the glare he shoots her.

He looks back at the kid, who now is at least standing up with his hand against the wall for balance. He looks pale, but he's not taking his eyes off of Leon, which is good. He should also focus on Yuffie because she's just as dangerous as him if subtler about it, but the kid's young. He can still learn.

"We had to get the Keyblade away from you to shake off the Heartless. That's how they were tracking you." He explains. That seems to widen the kid's tunnel vision as he finally notices his Keyblade propped up right up against the doorframe. His eyes widen. "Keyblade…"

Yuffie nods and sticks her finger out like she's about to impart some great knowledge. "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long."

Leon grumbles, "Still hard to believe that a kid like _you_, of all people, is the chosen one." He picks up the Keyblade and it stays in his hand for about one second. Then it disappears and reappears in the kid's hand. He's obviously surprised, but that turns to caution when Leon looms over him. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers."

The caution quickly turns into annoyance. "My name is _Sora_, not _kid_." He tells them. That's probably an important thing to know, but he's still a kid in their eyes. He looks, what? Thirteen? Fourteen?

Sora continues, "Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?"

They explain everything they can. Heartless, the Darkness, his Keyblade. They even ask him if he's ever heard of someone called Ansem, but that's a bust.

The hardest is when he asks about his home.

"Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!"

Leon can see the barely contained panic in Sora's eyes. He wishes he could tell him what happened to everything he must have ever known and loved, but… "You know what? I really don't know."

They fall into an uneasy silence. Sora takes deep calming breaths and unsummons his Keyblade. Yuffie sits on the bed and Leon heads back to the door.

He speaks suddenly, ripping through the quiet. "Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself." Sora has no idea how to do that, he's not even sure what he's supposed to do from here, so he just wanders the room.

A bit of exploring reveals that there are only one room and a bathroom, with the only exit blocked by Leon. He could go out through the window, but that's behind the bed, and thus behind Yuffie. There's a closet, a table and a couple of chairs here, nothing very interesting. There is _also_ a pillow and a chest on the table, and a fallen book on the floor, which is more interesting than nothing.

He goes to look at the chest since the book would be more Kairi's style and he isn't in the mood to take a nap right now.

Yuffie pipes in while he's trying to open it, "I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks. Go ahead and try, I want to see if it works." She leans in as he summons his keyblade.

It's a giant key, so he guesses it probably unlocks _something_, although there's _no way_ it's gonna fit in chest's small keyhole. He figures tapping the lid will make the same difference.

To his surprise and Yuffie's triumphant cheer it pops open easy as you please. Yuffie lets him keep the contents, a potion, for proving her correct.

Leon watches them have their fun, then stands up straight and calls for their attention.

"Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors."

Suddenly a dark puddle forms on the floor, and out of it crawls a Heartless.

Leon immediately puts himself between them and the erratically twitching creature and tells Yuffie to go and alert Aerith. He slams the heartless away and calls to Sora, "Sora, let's go."

Sora wants to finish the Heartless off but figures Leon knows more about what to do now. Even if he decides jumping through the window (the _still closed_ window) is the best way to get somewhere more open. Sora jumps too and is careful to avoid the glass shards.

More Heartless materialize around them.

Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader." Leon runs off, and Sora is left whacking the Heartless when they get to close. Never mind the fact he has no idea what the leader Heartless would look like.

Minions usually surround the leader, right? So just go where Heartless clump together the most! And that would be…

He rattles his brain as he runs around corners. Then it hits him. The Third District! Sora runs as fast as he can and dodges the small fry.

He soon enters the Third District

He_ also_ soon finds himself squashed pretty painfully into the pavement. _Ow, right on my gem…_

Two forms groan on top of him. Then they stop, look at his hand, and yell, "A key!" It's nice to know where their priorities lie, but it would be nicer if they_ got off of him!_

The ground starts shaking before he could yell (or whimper) at them to move, and pillars raise at the edges of the walls, blocking off the exits. The two jump up and pull out their weapons, letting Sora take the lead position as Heartless corner them.

The duck guy zaps the Heartless while the other one slams them flat with his shield. It works slower than his Keyblade, but they get through the creatures fast.

The ground shakes again and these weird pieces of empty armour rain down out of nowhere. They bounce off the pavement and come together to form oceans-knows-what. It sure doesn't look like a Heartless, yet there's nothing else it could be.

The pieces swing and flip and basically make Sora dizzy. He runs around it with and hits what he can, aiming for whatever looks like a weak spot. Relentless assault from three directions eventually breaks it down, and it dissipates into black smoke and a transparent pink hear.

Sora slumps down with a heavy exhausted sigh. He's ready for that nap now…

A voice that's somewhere between a blender and a scream yells next to Sora, "Hey, you!" Sora's head pounds.

"Huh?" He looks up. Marching towards him is that duck guy, followed by the dog one. But they don't just resemble animals, they _are _animals! Or does that make him sound rude? After a moment of thought, he gives up. He's too exhausted to worry about that now.

"Hello there!" The dog guy says. He sounds _way_ friendlier than his pal- also easier to understand. He holds out a hand to pull Sora up. "We've been looking for you, ah-hyuck!" He smiles. Sora accepts his help.

"For me? Why?" He asks.

The duck crosses his arms- wings? - and answers, "We weren't looking for _you_, we were looking for the_ Keyblade_. You just come with it." Well, that's a mean thing to say. Should Sora feel insulted, or is it just the duck's voice making it sound worse than it is?

"Garsh, Donald. That's no nice." The dog guy scold. So he _should _be insulted! Donald looks begrudgingly apologetic.

The dog guy turns back to Sora. "Me an' Donald are lookin' for King Mickey, but he wanted us to find the Keyblade. His letter said to ask Leon for help, but your right here! So that's half our mission done, ah-hyuck!"

"Yeah," Donald agrees. "Like Goofy said! We just need to find the King and then we can… Do what the King says to do after that." He doesn't seem quite sure what the plan is, so he just shrugs. Goofy shrugs with him.

Sora emphasizes. He has no idea what's going on either. Lucky Leon and Yuffie run down the now clear stairs.

"So you don't know where the King is?" Leon asks them when they slow to a stop. They shake their heads and slump.

"We gotta go look for him," Donald tells him. Goofy perks up.

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" He offers Sora. "we can go to other worlds on our vessel." Sora considers it.

"You're looking for your King, right? Could you help me find my friends?" He asks them. He hasn't seen hide or hair of them here, so they're obviously somewhere else. Maybe even a different world.

"Of course." Donald nods. Goofy leans down and whispers, "Are you sure?" Because the lanes are dangerous for a kid, and the chances of them finding his friends are too small for comfort.

Donald whispers back, "Who knows? But we need him to come with us to help us find the king."

"Sora," Leon addresses, "Go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends." Sora still looks uncertain and disheartened. Sore muscles, an aching gem and exhaustion are also pulling on his shoulders, so he just says, "Yeah, I guess…"

Donald sets his arms on his hips and tells him in no uncertain terms, "But you can't come along looking like that, understand?" He shakes his finger at Sora. Sora has no idea how to react to that. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Donald specifies.

Goofy crouches down to Donald's height and almost leans over him. "Yeah, you gotta look funny, like us!" Donald shoves him out of his personal space. "This boat runs on happy faces." He declares.

Sora's eyes are still locked on the ground. He doesn't really feel like smiling, but he's gotta stay optimistic. It won't help anyone if he gives up now. So he shoves everything far back and pulls out his silliest face. The one where he smiles way too wide and rolls his eyes up. It always makes Kairi and Riku laugh when they feel bad.

Goofy and Donald laugh. "That's one funny face!" Goofy chuckles.

Sora stands straight. "Okay, why not?" He says. "I'll go with you guys." Donald sticks his hand out. "Donald Duck." Goofy ads his hand. "Name's Goofy." Sora joins them, "I'm Sora."

Goofy and Donald raise their hands and Sora copies them. "All for one, one for all." Goofy chants.

The three laugh.

Sora is still tired, but he feels better now. Then Donald starts Shuffling him to where they keep the ship. "C'mon, the sooner we go the sooner we find them." He says. Goofy follows with a skip.

"Can't we rest first? I'm _really_ tired." Sora gripes. Today has been a lot, and he just needs a night to sleep. Or whatever night is here, since he doesn't think it's gotten any darker or brighter during all these hours.

"No, we need to go _now_. No time to waste." He's shoving Sora now, and Sora feels like he's gonna fall over any second.

"Please? I've been fighting all day and I've even poofed! One night won't hurt, will it?" Sora asks, digging in his heels. Leon Stops them both. "Poofed?" He asks.

"Yeah! You know, when your body gets too beat up and you go back into your gem?" Everyone's looking at him like he's lost it. "What?"

"Was that what happened when Leon beat you up?" Yuffie asks. Sora raises an eyebrow at her. "Yes? I know my gem's weird but you have to look so confused. Haven't you ever seen someone poof?"

"Does everyone you know have a gem?" Leon interrupts before Yuffie can say anything. She doesn't look she cares, still staring at where his gem is located. Sora's starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Everyone except Kairi," He tells them. They all look at each other, till Goofy snaps his fingers.

"I get it! It's 'cause you've never been off your world." He explains. "See, we don't have whatever a gem is, so it must only be from where you are." Lights go off. Everyone but Sora looks like they understand now.

"You mean no one else has a gem? No way!" He just thought they hid them under their clothes. This is crazy!

"Every world is different. It makes sense that no one else would be like that," Donald starts shoving him again. "But enough of that, we need to go!"

"I think not." Everyone stops and looks. There stands Sid, watching them all and looking very unimpressed. "You're all gonna take the night off, restock, and let me look at the kid. Then you can have fun in another world."

Donald growls, "Why you-"

Sid holds up a finger and goes towards them. Then he puts his hand on Sora's shoulder and starts leading him back to the First District. "I've already got a bed set up for him, and you two can sleep in the hotel. After that, I'll check your gummi ship and you can go. Not a minute before."

He steamrolls over any protests and shoots Leon a glare as they pass him.

"You and me are gonna have a conversation after they leave."

Yuffie snickers and Leon sighs. Sora's just happy he's gonna be able to sleep soon.

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**Sora's outfit is a onesie. I refuse to believe otherwise, and you can't make me. **

**Also I know nothing of Final Fantasy VII, so if the characters are slightly out of character, whoops. Donald is also a brat and Goofy is a sweetheart.**

**Please leave a comment on your way out! Next up I'm planning a chap for Riku, and definitely something for Ventus that i am very exited for. I'd love to hear what you all think.**

**See you all next time, bye!**


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